INTELLIGENCE SQUARED
US DEBATES:
WESTERN DEMOCRACY
IS THREATENING SUICIDE

Recent waves of populism and nationalism – including those that fueled Brexit and Donald Trump – have some fearing the end of Western democracy. But are these events really a threat to the liberal world order? Or will resilient democracies rally to triumph over fear, xenophobia and fractured political parties?

French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy and Harvard University Lecturer Yascha Mounk will argue for the motion. Bloomberg View columnist Clive Crook and the Hoover Institution’s Kori Schake will argue against.

Intelligence Squared U.S. is an award-winning debate series, recorded for radio, digital broadcast and television before a live audience. A nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, IQ2US was founded in 2006 to restore civility, reasoned analysis, and constructive public discourse to today’s often biased media landscape. The series is based on the traditional Oxford-style debate format, with one side proposing and the other side opposing a sharply-framed motion. Before the debate begins, the audience registers their pre-debate opinion using an electronic voting system tethered to each seat. These results are announced at the end of the program.